


Cold Blood (a Thor/Bruce Skyrim AU)

by Blizzard_Fire



Series: ThorBruce Week 2019 [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Skyrim Fusion, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Hand Feeding, Hurt Thor (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, M/M, Odin (Marvel)'s A+ Parenting, Romance, Sharing a Bed, Thalmor, Thor (Marvel) Feels, Thor (Marvel) Needs a Hug, ThorBruce Week, ThorBruce Week 2019, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 04:56:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21368527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blizzard_Fire/pseuds/Blizzard_Fire
Summary: Thor, firstborn son of Odin All-Maker, has been banished to Skyrim for his disobedience. His task: to hunt and kill the beast called Hulk. But when the Thalmor facility is breached, he finds only a man lying naked in the snow...Skyrim AU!
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Thor
Series: ThorBruce Week 2019 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1524101
Comments: 3
Kudos: 59
Collections: Thorbruce Week 2019





	Cold Blood (a Thor/Bruce Skyrim AU)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "Armour/Warmth" for ThorBruce Week 2019.
> 
> I don't generally write AUs but I've wanted to write a medieval one for a while now and I adore Skyrim and Oblivion so this was born! (It's not super lore-heavy though; if you're unfamiliar with Skyrim it works fine just as a fantasy au.) For extra immersion, pull up the soundtrack while you read ;)

'I would speak with my father.'

Thor's footsteps echoed off the high, golden walls of Asgard's throne room. His damp cloak hung limp from his shoulders, the toes of his boots dusted with snow. 

The guards stepped aside as he approached the throne, where Odin All-Maker sat waiting. 'I trust that my task allowed you time to reflect on your actions?'

Thor raised his head and regarded him steadily. 'It has, father.'

'Good. I hope you have learned not to meddle in the affairs of mortals. They are beneath us, boy.'

Thor fixed his gaze on the golden wall behind his father and waited, quietly dripping melted ice onto the floor.

'So,' Odin's voice grew brisk. 'I asked you to kill the beast. You have found it? And brought it here?'

Thor just gritted his teeth and nodded.

Odin smiled and sat back in his seat. 'Send it in.'

*

Banished.

Thor trudged through the snow, resisting the urge to blow on his hands. His father had always been a little overdramatic, but this? Now he had to wander the mortal plane looking for a beast that shouldn't be his problem in the first place...

It had been two days since Odin had cast him down to Mundus, and so far he'd seen neither hide nor hair of the thing. Everything in Skyrim seemed muted in colour after the golden splendour of Asgard; even its people were grim and grizzled. And it hadn't stopped snowing since he arrived. He scowled as he clambered over a fallen tree. Odin knew only that the beast was somewhere on this plane, and that their daedric allies would be pleased with its death. Thor had had to work out the rest himself.

Namely, questioning the local barkeep for gossip. Rumour is a powerful tool indeed.

'Spread out! It can't have gone far!'

Thor froze and looked over his shoulder. Elves in military armour fanned out across the clearing, weapons drawn. Like them, Thor had been following the huge footprints but the blizzard had wiped them clean. After that, he'd followed the general trail of destruction but that had gone cold too. However, he didn't fancy a fight with an order of mortals today.

But he kept his hammer at the ready as he pushed on into the forest of leaf-stripped trees. He might not find the beast today but at least he knew its whereabouts. And if the mortals got lucky... well, he'd just have to break into the Thalmor's holding facility and kill it in there.

It would have been easy to miss the man lying in the snow. He was slumped under a tree, half-covered in leaves and debris. His dark hair was soaked, flopping over his eyes. To Thor's horror, there wasn't a scrap of clothing on him.

'Hello?' Thor crouched down and gently shook his shoulder. It was like trying to rouse a corpse; his body was stiff, cold enough for the snow to have settled on him. Even his lips were blue-tinged... but he was breathing. Just. 'I've got you. Let's get you out of here.'

The voices of the Thalmor grew closer, footsteps crunching towards him. The beast was long gone, but if the stranger could be revived he might have an eye witness. So he gathered him up in his damp cloak and carried him out of the forest. His time on Mundus was far from over, but now he had a lead.

Providing the mortal didn't die on the way.

Dragon Bridge was two miles' walk away from the Thalmor holding facility. The journey took twice as long thanks to the blizzard that was now in full force, and by the time Thor reached the Four Shields Tavern he couldn't feel his hands. He kicked the door open, ignoring the stares of the locals as they looked up from their tankards. 'He is dying,' he growled, 'he needs aid.'

A dark-haired woman rolled her eyes and stepped out from behind the bar. 'Another drunk, is it? This way.' She marched into Thor's rented room, wrenched back the bedcovers and marched out again.

With stiff arms, Thor managed to lower the man into the bed. His head lolled limply against the pillow, and he didn't stir as the blankets were pulled over him. Was he linked to the Thalmor, or had he been wandering the forest by coincidence? Neither explained the absence of clothes. In Skyrim, to step out unclothed was a death wish. Had this man intended to die out there?

'You don't know the meaning of subtlety, do you?' The woman returned, carrying an armful of blankets and some waterskins, and closed the door behind her. 'You ask me, _loudly, _about the Thalmor facility, then troop back in here and announce to the whole tavern you just "found" someone in need of help?'

Thor quashed the impulse to snap at her. 'It seems you know me too well, Faida,' he said lightly.

'Hmph. You got a lot to learn about the way things are done around here. Wherever it is you're _actually_ from.' She knelt beside the bed and pulled back the covers. 'He a friend of yours?'

'No, I just - found him. Out in the snow.' Thor watched her place one of the skins against the man's neck and the others under his armpits. 'Er, does that help him?'

'It's just warm water. Got to warm him up slowly.' She pulled the blanket back over him, up to his chin, then piled the others on top. 'From now, you don't move him or touch him. No movement, no rubbing, no nothing.' The woman was barely shoulder-height to Thor, but she jabbed a finger at his chest. 'Got it, big guy?'

Thor nodded. 'Thank you for your help.'

Faida shrugged. 'I've seen my fair share of chill deaths. But I warn you, most people this bad don't survive.' She opened the door. 'Monitor his breathing. If he wakes, let me know.'

And then Thor was on his own.

Once he'd bolted the door, he struggled out of his cold, wet armour. With the little gold he had (after saving a grateful farmer from a wolf), he'd purchased some spare clothes so he shrugged on a shirt and fresh pants. There was no fireplace in here so he draped his cloak over the back of the chair and slumped down to rest.

The gods had all heard of the beast called Hulk. Hircine, god of the hunt, moaned constantly about his gift of lycanthropy being stolen and "corrupted" into something hideous and unholy. Loki had laughed about it: it was a clever mortal indeed who made fools of the gods. He'd laughed even harder when he heard of Thor's task. "_You, find the beast? I wish you luck, brother. See you in a couple of centuries."_

And all this because Thor had helped to stop Mehrunes Dagon from invading Mundus. _Again_. Odin always insisted they keep out of the daedra's business, but Thor felt he owed something to the people who worshipped them. Wasn't that what being a god was all about? Yet he couldn't even save one person.

Thor glanced up. The stranger blinked back at him.

Thor remembered that he was a six-foot-two god and tried to look friendly. 'Welcome back. How do you feel?'

The man coughed, shuddered, and threw up into the bucket beside the bed (thank you, Faida).

'That's alright, I'm a god it happens to a lot of - what the hell did you eat?' The bucket was now full of blood.

'Deer, I think,' he rasped, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. There did appear to be chunks of animal in there.

Thor huffed, impressed. 'Did you chew it?'

He collapsed back onto the bed, shivering. 'What happened?'

'I found you out in the snow.' He knelt beside the bed. 'The Thalmor were sniffing around, so I got you out of the way. You didn't happen to um, see any kind of beast roaming around, did you?'

A myriad of expressions flickered across his face, settling on confusion. He stared at Thor. 'Wait, you're - '

He smiled. 'A god, yes.'

'One of the nine?'

'Uh, no.'

'Are you Shor?' He looked pained. 'Aedra or daedra? What's the trickster's name - Sanguine?'

'I am Thor, son of the All-Maker.'

'Oh. Sorry, I haven't heard of you.' He brushed his damp hair out of his eyes. 'But thanks. For finding me before they did. I should get going.' He attempted to sit up. Thor gently pushed him back down.

'You mortals truly overestimate yourselves,' he chuckled. 'Now, rest. I will be back in a moment.'

Ten minutes later, the man was slumped against Thor's shoulder as Thor raised a cup to his lips. At first, he'd attempted to feed himself, but his hands were shaking so badly he couldn't lift them. Faida had been surprised to hear he was awake. It was a strong mortal indeed who could shrug off the cold without suffering from frostbite.

'Don't think I ever appreciated soup until now,' he muttered after turning his head to swallow. 'Thanks.' Now that he'd dried out a little, his dark hair formed unruly curls that stuck up in all directions. If he was embarrassed to be hand-fed by a god whilst wearing nothing but a blanket, he didn't show it. 'I'm Bruce, by the way.' He grasped feebly at Thor's arm, guiding the cup back to his mouth. Thor watched his throat bob as he swallowed and marvelled at how close to death he'd been only hours earlier. He was itching to question him about the beast, but Bruce was clearly exhausted and in any case, Thor was too tired to go back out into that snowstorm. What would it achieve?

Bruce started shivering as soon as he'd finished the soup. 'They'll come looking for me.'

'Not tonight, they won't,' said Thor firmly, setting the cup down and lowering Bruce back down. 'Not in this blizzard. And anyway, I am a god. I cannot be harmed by mortal man.'

'That's a theory they'd be willing to test.' But Bruce didn't protest further, burrowing down under the covers. His brow furrowed as he fought to stop shivering. 'Can't even go back home, they're everywhere.' His teeth chattered. He looked up sharply as Thor pulled the covers back. 'Uh-'

'You need to stay warm.' Thor clambered in beside him. 'You are under my protection. I will not have you die in the night.' He didn't add that Bruce was currently his only lead on finding Hulk.

Bruce hmphed, as if reading his thoughts. Thor turned over so his back was facing him and closed his eyes.

A short while later, Bruce pressed up against him discreetly until his breathing slowed down and the shivers died away. Thor drifted off to the sound of the blizzard outside.

The next day, the storm had passed and the Thalmor searched the tavern. But they were already long gone, having left at daybreak.

It was slow going. Bruce was still weak, so Thor carried him in his arms and walked northwards. 'You're sure Hulk was headed this way?'

Bruce's laugh was a puff of warm air across his neck. 'Pretty sure. I got to know him pretty well in there. He helped me escape.'

So Bruce had been imprisoned too. 'Why are the Thalmor after you?'

He sighed. 'Long story. I'm kinda known for my work in conjuration magic. They wanted to... well, let's just say they wanted some trade secrets. Anything they can use to keep the empire under control.' At Thor's puzzled silence, he raised his head. 'Did you know there's a war going on?'

'It's been a while since I visited your realm,' Thor admitted sheepishly.

'You didn't miss much. Basically the Stormcloaks hate the empire and the empire is being puppeted by the Thalmor. They pissed off a lot of people when they outlawed Talos worship.'

'Including you?'

Bruce shook his head. 'I'm a Breton, and too busy to worship anyone. I'm more interested in my work.' He chuckled. 'They pissed _me_ off by kidnapping me.'

The roads were almost covered by last night's blizzard. Thor kept an eye out, but no Thalmor appeared to challenge them. Whilst the cold numbed his cheeks and made his feet clumsy, Bruce seemed invigorated. By the time they stopped at the next town his cheeks were flushed pink and he was able to walk unaided.

The locals hadn't seen the Hulk pass through, but by then it was getting dark. They rented the cheapest room. Thor insisted Bruce took the bed.

It became routine. Over the next few weeks, they would rise at daybreak and walk until they reached the next town, and the next, doing odd jobs or hunting so they could eat. The Thalmor were a constant danger, always just one step behind.

Bruce recovered quickly, and soon he was up before Thor, ready to go. He told Thor about his studies. Thor told him of his quest. Bruce always went quiet when the Hulk was mentioned, which made him wonder if the beast deserved to be hunted after all.

He agreed to take Bruce to the border. Beyond Skyrim, the Thalmor had less influence and his face wasn't as known. Yet with each passing day they grew a little closer. Despite their different backgrounds, each found the other fascinating. Thor began to look forward to the scientist's rare smiles until he began to dream of him at night.

Gods had to be careful who they fell in love with. Marry a weaker god and you risked being laughed at or cast down. Marry a stronger god and they might simply take your domain and crush you.

But to fall for a mortal... that was the unspeakable crime.

By then, Thor was already entranced with the scientist's gentle smile. Bruce was as wise as any sage, but as inquisitive as a child seeing the world anew. And the more time they spent huddled at campfires or (awkwardly) sharing tavern beds, the less Thor wanted to leave.

On their last night, they sat by the fire.

'What will you do?' Bruce asked. 'When - when I'm gone.'

'Continue my hunt for the Hulk, I suppose.' Thor sighed. 'But after all you've told me of the Thalmor... who's to say the beast is dangerous?'

Bruce's hands lay loose in his lap, but now they fidgeted, picking at the hem of his robes. 'You said the gods were all looking for him.'

'Only because Hircine is pissed off. And Hircine is always whining about something. He never said Hulk was evil.' The fiddling annoyed him. Did mortals never sit still? 'Bruce, are you well? You've hardly looked at me all evening.'

Bruce's eyes snapped up to his, then he looked away guiltily. 'I just... it's fine. Nerves.' He redoubled his efforts on picking his sleeve to pieces.

He looked up when Thor took hold of his hands and held them tightly. 'I understand.'

His eyes widened. 'You do?'

'You fear an attack now we are so close. Fear not, Bruce. I shall ensure we cross safely.'

Bruce's expression closed off. He nodded, pulling his hands out of Thor's grip. 'Yeah. Thanks. I'm going to go to sleep now. Busy day tomorrow.'

As Bruce got up to clamber into the bed, Thor resisted the urge to say more. No sense in risking a friendship that would end tomorrow anyway. It had been a pleasant diversion, but soon it would be time to return to his quest.

But he felt guilty as he slipped into bed beside him, and he hardly slept at all.

They were almost at the border when the Thalmor surrounded them.

The invisibility spell disappeared and then there they were: archers and battlemages with sparks jumping from their hands.

'Gentlemen.' An elven woman stepped out, clad in black robes. 'I don't believe we've been introduced,' she said to Thor. Her voice had a strangely brittle quality, like shifting ice. 'I am Elenwen, Ambassador of the Thalmor. And you have something of mine.'

Bruce stepped forward, his oversized cloak making him look even smaller. 'Sorry, I lost the pants you gave me.'

She smiled, eyes glittering. 'You have caused me a great deal of trouble, professor. Why don't you get back in your cage before anyone else gets hurt?'

Thor eyed the soldiers and held out his hammer. 'This seems rather extravagant. Don't you have a Hulk to catch?'

'Very funny. Well, Banner? I'm waiting.'

Bruce hesitated for a long moment, then his shoulders slumped. 'I'll go. But Thor stays here and you don't harm him.'

'Bruce is under my protection,' Thor growled, grabbing Bruce's arm and pulling him back. 'What are you doing?' he hissed.

'Protecting you,' he muttered. 'I know what coming here did to you.'

But they didn't. He faced the soldiers and raised his voice. 'I am Thor, son of the All-Maker.'

Elenwen laughed. 'You are no god here.' Her gaze shifted between them. 'You really don't know, do you? About the beast?'

'No games.' Thor shielded Bruce's body with his own. 'I will die before I let you take him.'

She shrugged. 'Then die.'

The Thamor attacked. Bolts of electricity shot through the clearing, setting trees alight. A flash tore through Thor's body and he fell in the snow, limbs twitching. His hammer fell from his grasp. The cold bite of an arrow bit into his shoulder and it was the worst pain he'd ever felt. He screamed.

Then something green flashed across his vision and a soldier was thrown to the ground. Thor could only lie there as spasms juddered through him and blood stained the snow.

The shouts died down. Heavy footfalls. Then a huge, green face swam into view.

Thor groaned as he was lifted off the ground by huge hands. The beast peered at him closely. 'Thor hurt,' it concluded sadly.

The arrow had gone right through his shoulder; it grated against tendon every time he breathed. Thor reached out. 'You... saved me.'

Hulk nodded. 'Thor help puny Banner. Hulk like Thor.'

That face... it was Bruce's face, distorted and strange. Thor dreamily ran a hand down the great green cheek. 'All this time, he knew...' But the pain was too great to process anything right now. Thor fainted dead away in Hulk's arms.

He awoke to the sound of a crackling fire.

Thor opened his eyes and found himself back in last night's bedroom, where a fire crackled merrily in the hearth. Bruce sat beside it, warming his hands. 'I owe you an explanation,' he said, without turning around.

Thor tried to sit up, then groaned as pain lashed through his shoulder. He'd been stripped of his armour, and bloodied bandages were bound over the wound. 'How did I get here?'

'I carried you.' He picked up a poker and prodded at the fire. 'I'm stronger than I look.'

'So you are the beast the gods are after.' No other mortal could have survived that snowstorm. Suddenly it all made sense.

'Hulk was... an accident. I was experimenting with cures for lycanthropy. Then I thought I might improve on it.' He sighed. 'Didn't work. Then Hircine sent followers after me, saying I'd corrupted his gift. So I travelled, never staying in one place for too long. Made it to the College of Winterhold. The Thalmor advisor there turned me in.'

Thor managed to sit up this time, but couldn't hold back a gasp. This was pain he wasn't used to. He saw the arrow lying on the floor, brown with his blood, and his vision went black at the edges.

Warm hands gently pushed him down and drew the blankets over him. 'Thor?' Bruce's eyes were so dark, shadowed from the fire, but they glistened. 'I thought you said gods can't be harmed by mortals.'

'They can't,' he whispered, throat hoarse. 'But I'm- I'm not - '

Bruce brushed a strand of hair off his sweaty forehead. 'You haven't been a god for a while, have you? Yet you still did this for me.'

He'd began to suspect it not long after he'd found Bruce. Aches that took longer to fade, an increased need to sleep and eat, wounds that wouldn't heal. The longer he was away from Asgard, the less of a god he became. Now he was weaker than Bruce.

He shivered. 'How do you stand it? Your lives are fleeting and tiny, yet you hurt so easily, you feel so much...'

'Feeling pain doesn't make you weak. It makes you - ' He paused, hand resting on his forehead. 'It makes you human.'

This land was so bleak but its people were so full of life and hope. He'd seen more fire in Faida than he had in any of his friends back home. Except for Loki, perhaps. And then there was Bruce.

'I can't do it. I can't harm you Bruce, not for Father, not for anyone. I can't do it I just can't...' And to his shame, he sobbed.

'It's okay.' Bruce sat on the edge of the bed and stroked a hand through his hair. Thor took hold of his wrist and pressed Bruce's hand against his beating heart.

'I will not play Father's games anymore. I spoke the truth to Elenwen: I will die before I let anyone else hunt you or cage you.'

Those dark eyes blinked rapidly, and Bruce's mouth opened slightly. 'Thor...'

'And wherever you need to go to be safe, I will help you get there.' He fought to keep his breathing steady, the pain in his shoulder crawling down his arm. 'I renounce my quest. You are more important. You are... you are everything.'

Up close, he saw that Bruce's eyes weren't dark at all. They caught the echo of firelight like shadowed pools of honey. His soft lips breathed a sigh. 'Can I kiss you?'

The bed was small, but there was room for two broken people seeking refuge. Bruce sought him like a man seeking home in the storm: slow but firm kisses that gave as much as they took away. They clung to each other, pressing lips to drying tears and murmuring confessions into frost-burnt skin.

As the fire burned low and snow pelted the windows outside, and Bruce slept softly beside him, Thor felt truly warm for the first time since he'd arrived in Skyrim.

He pressed a kiss into Bruce's dark curls and in the perfect darkness of the night he whispered a promise.

'I've got you.'

*

'So,' said Odin, 'I asked you to kill the beast. You have found it? And brought it here?'

Thor gritted his teeth and nodded.

'Send it in.'

Thor nodded to the guards, who re-opened the great golden doors at the far end of the throne room. But there was no monster.

Bruce Banner, hands clasped together, walked briskly towards them, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with the guards as he passed.

'I do not understand. Who is this man? Have you made an error, my son?'

'No, Father.' Thor stood proud, a mortal in the realm of the gods. 'I said I had found the beast. I never claimed to have killed him.'

'And instead you bring me... a human?'

'This is Bruce.'

Bruce came to stand beside Thor, offering Odin a nod of recognition. 'Good to meet you, Your Highness.'

Odin ignored him. 'Where is the beast, Thor?'

'He escaped, I'm afraid. Could be anywhere on Nirn by now.'

Odin's knuckles whitened as he gripped his staff. 'So you have not killed the creature as I asked.'

Thor smiled. 'No.'

'And you have not learned the error of your ways.'

'Apparently not, Father.'

He leaned forward on his throne. 'Then why have you come here?' he hissed.

Thor reached out to take Bruce's hand in his. 'Why, to ask for your blessing.'

The throne room seemed to drop in temperature as Odin stared at them both with cold fury. 'My son,' he uttered, 'you jest with me.'

'I wish to protect Mundus from all who try to harm it, be they allies or daedra. And I will do so with a husband.' He squeezed Bruce's hand. Bruce squeezed back. 'With or without my godhood.'

He had the rare pleasure of seeing his father at a complete loss for words. 'This - this is madness! How do you expect to rule one day?'

'Hopefully with him by my side.' Thor planted a kiss on Bruce's cheek and felt some of the other man's tension melt away.

Odin stood up. 'Never! Never will you take the throne after this!'

'Then I bid you farewell, Father. I'm sure Loki will make a fine king.' With a final bow, Thor turned and led them out of the room, chased by Odin's raging threats. Neither of them spoke as they strode down Asgard's halls. This had been Thor's home for many long centuries. But perhaps it was time for a change.

'Did you mean that?' Bruce asked quietly as they walked along the Rainbow Bridge. 'About staying with me? You don't care if Odin never gives you the throne?'

'I meant every word.' Thor stopped to wrap his arms around him. 'Father has his tempers but they usually subside. He'll see reason in the end, I'm sure. And if not... well, I doubt Loki would have any issue in our return should he become king one day.'

A hesitant smile grew on Bruce's face. 'I hope so. It'd be a shame if you could never come back here.'

They gazed across the ocean, at the endless golden spires and sparkling towers.

Thor pressed a kiss on the top of his head. 'Let's go home, beloved.'

**Author's Note:**

> I'll just write short fics, I said. Then I'll get all the prompts done, I said.
> 
> I love lying to myself.


End file.
